Cape Vacation Adventures

Every year for week #33, we go to Cape  Cod to enjoy a week of family vacation.  But in true "Steve Tradition", this week is not without adventures.  After all, it's The Cape, and there are plenty of opportunities for those adventures.

Sunday, August 16
Nauset Marsh Trail, Eastham

The original plan for the day was taking a motor boat out in Pleasant Bay.  However, the weather had different plans.  The skies looked stormy and the winds were whipping up the waters on the bay pretty fiercely, so our excursion was cancelled.  

As an alternative, we hopped in the car and set off on a short 1.3 mile hike starting from the Cape Cod National Seashore Eastham Visitor Center.  While the building itself was closed, the surrounding trails were wide open.

A map at the beginning will get us on the right track.

Never quite figured out what this was floating in Salt Pond.

The marsh leaves islands at high tide...

... then empties out toward the barrier sand island that is Nauset Beach.

There are small creatures to discover at the waters' edge.

It's an easy hiking trail so everyone can get in on the fun.  The pitch pine & hemlock are on all sides.

Monday, August 17
Cape Cod Rail Trail (East), Dennis & Yarmouth

There is continuing improvement of the Cape Cod Rail Trail.  A couple years ago, it was extended

to the east from its starting location in Dennis on Rt. 134.  Now there's a bridge that crosses the highway as well as another bridge that crosses the Bass River about a mile beyond that.  The was time to explore the new section.

Unload the bikes, load up the chariot, leave the boats behind.

Betsy took a walk down to the Bass River Bridge and we met her there.

A deck on the east side affords a great view of the Bass River. The Mid Cape Highway (Rt 6) can be seen to the north.

The new section of the trail connects to an older section which bisects a public golf course in Yarmouth.

This the the current end of the bike trail at Station Avenue.  Miles from Dennis are marked as "negative" miles.

Everyone's enjoying the ride.  Back to the start, our total distance was 11.86 miles.  I sprinted ahead on the way back and continued into Harwich for another 2.5 miles, but didn't make it all the way to the Old Colony rotary.  In all, I covered 17.4 miles.  Fun day!

Tuesday August 18
To Namskaket Creek, Brewster & Orleans

Later that day, we took the boats out at Linnell Landing in Brewster.  Betsy, Cassandra, Catherine, and I paddled into the marsh.  I forgot to track our route, but suffice it to say it was very similar to the one we did 3 years ago and was probably about 4-5 miles in length.

Alex takes Monica for a ride, too.

Wednesday, August 19
Little Pleasant Bay - Sipson Island & Hog Island & Sampson Island, Orleans

The book said this trip was "3.0 miles in 3.0 hours."  The book was wrong.

Ostensibly, our destination was Sipson Island (see below), but we decided to expand the parameters of that goal a bit.

Here's our put-in & take-out.  The boat house is classic.

NIce house.  Nice sea wall.  The winds are calm and the water like glass.

Matt & I paddle past Sipson Island, which now hosts a conservation area and welcomes the public for the first time in 300 years.

You lose all perspective on the water.  We're coming up on Hog Island here.
If you look carefully, you can spot an osprey nest.

After an hour or so of paddling, we find a nice beach on Sampson Island where we can take a snack break.

Though it's been drizzling a bit and the winds have picked up, we decide on an alternate route back and swing past the east side of Sipson Island.  While there is now conservation area here, there is still private property, as well.

Passing this guano-covered rock, notice how the chop on the water has picked up.  It was a little challenging getting back.

When we were done, we had traversed 6.9 miles in 2:20.  So much for 3.0 miles in 3 hours.

Thursday, August 20
Linnell Landing Beach - Cape Cod Bay,  Brewster

It was just Betsy & me at the beach today.  We headed out into the bay for a ways, then headed toward Skatet Beach in Orleans.  When we felt we went far enough, we turned around, but pointed the boats toward the power plant on the horizon in Sandwich.  When we judged we were  out in front of our starting point, we took a hard left turn toward the beach.  When we made that turn we were a long .6 mi from land.  All told, we paddled 2.61 miles in 1:13.

There's Betsy ahead of me as we head out to sea.

Friday, August 21
Breakwater Beach, Brewster

We got up early to take advantage of the low tide and walk the Brewster Flats before checking out.  We walked straight out (more or less) watching for shells and sea creatures as the tide slowly creeped back in.

Madeline loved running over the sand bars.

We have the flats pretty much to ourselves.

Family Portrait.

Oh yeah, the skies were beautiful, too.

A heron looking for breakfast.

to

Cape Cod Rail Trail, Brewster & Orleans & Eastham & Wellfleet

This last day day (actually it wasn't even a full day), I wanted to get in one more bike ride.  After we cleaned up the condo and packed up the car. we drove to the midpoint of the Cape Cod Rail Trail at Nickerson State Park.  Betsy dropped me off and headed off to buy some homemade jams and jellies.  By myself, I just flew up this very familiar section of the rail trail.  Originally, we were going to meet at Arnold's (the trail pass right behind their parking lot), but instead I rode further - all the way to the Marconi beach road in Wellfleet.  That was 10.9 miles done in :51 minutes.  

And a great way to end another adventurous week at the Cape.